


Eye on the Prize

by worddancer



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Children, Deaf Clint, F/M, Hero Complex, after the battle of New York, civilian, i really don't know what to write here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-09 18:52:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4360391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worddancer/pseuds/worddancer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During the Battle of New York Clint helps a woman save a little girl. While settling into the Avengers Tower he ends up helping them some more. Natasha calls it his hero complex. Clint disagree's. He just needs to see one good thing come out of all the distruction. If a tiny bit of normal enters his life, well that can't be the worst thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an idea off a dream that popped into my head the other night. I'm working on a novel right now so I'll be visiting this whenever I have writers block and need to work on something else. 
> 
> I liked the story line of Clint and the farm and his family. I also like the idea of Clint having a bit of a hero complex. He helps a woman save a little girl and has to see it through. Toss in the Avengers settling into the tower together? Add in some Darcy action with some Jane. 
> 
> Plus I have a lot of Hawkeye feels.
> 
> So read, review and enjoy. 
> 
> I played fast and loose with some of the exact happenings at the Battle of New York- I put Hawkeye on the ground for awhile. This is AU after the Avengers although I might take bits and pieces of the other movies as it helps me and the story.

CHPT 1 

Clint shot off arrow after arrow trying to make as much of a dent as he could in the wave of aliens falling from the sky. He reached for explosive arrows and tried to shoot into clusters of Chutari in hopes of blowing several up at once. He also looked for civilians as he ran through the city. As he found civilian after civilian he sent them to the safe locations Cap had set up protected by the boys in blue.

            Find civilians, set up a perimeter, look for anything that could help them stop this mess. Those were his orders. He might not be great at following all of his orders and he might be a carnie at heart but right now with aliens coming out of a worm hole above New York City he was damned glad have them. Orders made sense, orders he could follow.

            He rounded the next corner and stopped for a seconded to try to catch his breath.

            “Hawkeye- report.” Cap’s voice came over his com.

            “Just a couple of stragglers now for civilians. I’m running out of arrows- maybe two dozen left. I don’t see anything yet but give me a minute- I might have an idea.” Clint quickly reported.

            “Good, Hulk is smashing the enemy, Widow is doing something- I’m not sure what but its working. Ironman has some sort of a plan- be ready for it.” Captain America reported back.

            “Where’s Thor?” Clint asked quickly looking around for the Norse god.

            “Working out some family issues.” Captain America said dryly.

            “Good, nothing like hitting each other for therapy.” Clint responded back in the same dry humor. “I’m going to clear another couple of blocks, when the party goes down we want civilians out of here.”

            “Good. I’ll let you know what we need.” With that the com clicked out letting Clint know that it was time to get back to work.

            “FUCK, SHIT, COCKSUCK!” An angry voice cried out behind him, “You! In the spandex. You’re one of those superhero’s right? That’s why you’re wearing the outfit?”

            Clint turned around to find a petit brunette pointing at him standing next to a pile of rubble. He nodded with his hand gripping his bow a little tighter.

            “Good, get over here. There’s a little girl under here and I can’t lift this shit myself.” She pointed to the rubble.

            Clint didn’t hesitate as he ran over to the young woman. He quickly examined the destruction in front of him. By some miracle the concrete had fallen in such a way that it formed almost a perfect box around the child. The little girl crouched huddled and terrified. Clint felt his heart clench- the child couldn’t be older than two or three.

            “Hi sweetie, my names Hawkeye and…” Here he trailed off looking at the woman.

            “Charlotte.” She supplied.

            “Charlotte and I are going to get you out of here ok?” He tried to keep his voice as soothing as possible as he assessed the best way to extract the child. The little girl nodded but he didn’t know how much she understood. Clint stood up from his crouch and looked at Charlotte.

            “Ok I don’t think the sides will collapse if we lift it but I’m not 100% sure. I think I can lift the top slab and I want you to grab her out. OK?” He asked.

            “Ok, hurry up. I get the feeling this isn’t the worst of what we’re going to see. I want her out of here.” Charlotte agreed.

            “Ok, on three. One, two, three.” On three Clint lifted as Charlotte ducked her arms into the rubble to pull out the little girl. As soon as she was clear he dropped the stone back down. Charlotte was already looking the girl over for any injuries.

            “How is she?” He asked terrified. It had been a hell week and he wanted this one thing to be good.

            “She’s ok, I can’t believe it but she’s ok, maybe a bruise or two but nothing serious.” Charlotte said in amazement. “Honey do you know your name?” She asked the child. The little girl just started crying and threw herself into Charlotte’s arms.

            “It’s ok baby girl, you’re safe now. We’ll find your mommy and daddy ok? It’s ok baby girl.” Charlotte said holding the toddler.

            “Where would we be as safe as possible?” She asked turning to Clint.

            “Outside of the city.” He answered before thinking. Surprisingly Charlotte just smiled.

            “And if I left my jet at home?” She asked.

            “NYPD is setting up a perimeter four blocks down. Can you get there safely?” He asked.

            “I think so. I’ll try to pick up anyone else I see.” Charlotte says as she turns to go holding the girl tight. As she turned Clint saw the wide streak of blood across her right shoulder.

            “Wait!” He called before she could walk away. “What happened to your shoulder?”

            “What?” Charlotte asked confused. She twisted her head around trying to keep a hold of the toddler and look at her shoulder at the same time.

            “Oh,” She said as the movement tugged her wound. “That hurts.”

            “Let me look quick.” Clint said. She looked at him for a moment before nodding and turning her back to him to let him get a closer look. Luckily she wore a button down shirt over a camisole so he easily slipped the shirt from her shoulder. An angry, jaded gash stared at him on top of smooth skin. Most of the blood had stopped flowing and began to clot. It would need stitches but it didn’t look life threatening.

            “You should be good to get to the safe zone but I’m coming with as long as I can.” He decided. Getting her and the child there would help him finish his sweep anyway. He wanted to get an idea of the destruction also. When it came down to it if they could contain further destruction to a limited area it’d make clean up a lot easier.

            “You don’t have too. I’m sure you have to save the city and all that.” Charlotte said as they took off at a jog for the perimeter. Clint kept glancing over at Charlotte worriedly, every couple of steps her face pulled into a wince of pain.

            “I need to clear as much of this area as I can. Escorting you is just an added bonus.” He said light heartedly. Charlotte nodded her understanding even as her shoulder pulled again causing to gasp slightly.

            “Do you want me to take her?” He asked as they jogged down the block.

            “I want you to keep your bow up.” Charlotte told him, “Besides, I don’t think she’ll go to you right now. She’s gripping me pretty tight.”

            Clint nodded and notched an arrow into his bow. As they rounded the corner he went first before waving her to come forward. As they weaved their way through the city blocks they picked up about fifteen more civilians. Clint breathed a small sigh of relief when they made it to the perimeter. The more people they gathered on their way the more people he would be responsible for their safety. He worked better alone.

            After he handed Charlotte, the child and the others over to the NYPD Clint pressed his com.

            “Cap,” he said, “I got the blocks we already destroyed cleared. You’re plan involve you staying in that area?”

            “It does. Where are you?” Steve asked.

            “In the main “safe zone” you coming for me?” Clint asked.

            “Yeah, Tony will pick you up in five. He’s on his way.” Steve answered. They quickly signed off the coms.

            “Charlotte!” Clint called seeing her sitting on an ambulance gurney. The little girl clung to her lap as a medic did field treatment to her shoulder. She turned her neck toward his voice as he jogged over to meet her.

            “Stay here.” Clint told her, “I have to go help finish cleaning up this mess- you’ll be safe here.”

            “Thanks Hawkeye, for me and baby girl here.” Charlotte gestured to the little one on her lap.

            “Don’t mention it.” Clint brushed the thanks off. He still wasn’t used to people knowing when he was involved in anything. He wasn’t sure he liked it. Too much visibility made it harder for him to move silently in shadows, made it harder for him to do his job. He ran again to the edge of the perimeter as Tony swooped down to collect him. Clint was used to a lot of weird shit but getting picked up and flown through the air wasn’t one of them.

~&~

            Charlotte watched as the archer was picked up in the air by Ironman. She shook her head in the last few years the world had gotten stranger. There were superheroes now. There were demons now. Well there had always been demons but now they showed their faces more clearly. Either way it was bigger and it was messier and more people were getting hurt.

            “Ma’am,” the medic looking at her shoulder said, “We’re not bringing non-emergency to the hospital but I have a doctor over here who’s going to come look at your shoulder. It’s not too deep, probably just need stitches.”

            “Thank you.” Charlotte said. A young doctor came up to her wearing a stained white coat with her black hair pulled back into a sharp pony tail.

            “Hi, my name is Doctor Martins,” She said snapping on a clean pair of rubber gloves, “What’s yours?”

            “Charlotte Mathews.” Charlotte answered.

            “Is this your daughter?” Dr. Martins asked as she peeled the gauze bandage back to get a look at the gash.

            “No, I found her in the rubble. I’m looking for her parents.” Charlotte winced as the doctor poked her wound.

            “I’ll keep an ear out for anyone missing kids. You need stitches.”

            “So I’ve been told.” Charlotte said dryly.

            “If I send you to a hospital it’ll be days before you’re seen. I can sterilize the gash and put in field stitches here. I have a local so you won’t feel anything but a shot. Under the circumstances I want to get this closed and covered as soon as possible.” Dr. Martins explained.

            “Shoot me up doc. Let’s get this taken care of.” Charlotte said shifting the toddler’s weight in her lap. She winced a bit as the doctor plunged a needle full of local anesthetic into her arm.

            “Sorry about that.” Doctor Martins apologized, “You’ll feel a few more pokes and a bit of a burn but then you’re good.”

            “Don’t worry about it, never been a fan of shots.” Charlotte told her. Dr. Martins nodded sympathetically as she began to stitch up Charlotte’s right shoulder.

            After a few minutes the doctor stepped around to stand in front of Charlotte.

            “Alright, I got it sewed up. Be careful with it you don’t want the stitches to rip now. That’d be bad. The cut was pretty deep so there’s going to be some scaring. If the stitches rip you’ll start to bleed and will need to get to a hospital. Keep it clean. Go to your doctor or a hospital in two weeks to get them out. If it becomes hot to the touch it’s probably infected and you need to get to a doctor right away. The city is going to be in chaos for a while. If for some reason you can’t get to a doctor the stitches will dissolve eventually but it’s better to get them taken out. Understand?” The doctor fired off orders at Charlotte.

            “Yes, be careful, keep it clean, don’t get it infected and see a doc in two weeks. Got it.” Charlotte replied.

            “Good. I’m going to look over the little girl now. Does she have a name?” Dr. Martins asked.

            “I don’t know it. She hasn’t said anything. I’ve been calling her Baby Girl but it’s not really a name.”

            “It’s good enough.” Dr. Martins quickly checked the toddler over. “Well she’s not hurt. Some scrapes and bruises. All superficial. Looks like she’s about two to three years old, healthy weight. She’s been well taken care of at least. If her parents made it out they’ll be looking for her.”

            “I hope so.” Charlotte told her.

            “I have to check on other people. If you need anything or have any questions flag me down.”

            “Will do.”

Charlotte rested her head against the top of the toddlers in her lap. All around her she heard explosions and buildings collapsing. The world was going to hell or so it seemed. Then it stopped. The explosions stopped, the giant hole in the sky closed. The world stopped ending and people rushed in and out trying to find their loved ones, trying to go home. Charlotte asked everybody if they lost a little girl. The cleanup was going to take forever. The list of the missing and the dead was going to take weeks. A police officer took her name and number. Baby Girl clung to her the entire time. A lady from social services found her waiting in a long line and asked if she’d take care of the girl for now. At least until there’s order. Until they could come up with a new plan.

Charlotte nodded and hugged Baby Girl closer realizing she didn’t want to give the toddler to strangers. She wanted to take care of the little girl if someone had to. The social worker thanked her tiredly and went to see who else needed to have their name and number taken down. Charlotte adjusted Baby Girl on her hip and looked around before she started to walk. Her apartment was over two miles from the destruction. She’d taken the train for a day out. A day of window shopping and overpriced coffee. The trains weren’t running after the mayhem.

After the first five blocks her feet started to blister. After the 12th block they began to bleed. Her arms went numb after the first twenty minutes. She didn’t stop walking though. She was terrified if she sat down before she got to her apartment she’d never get back up. Baby Girl fell asleep around the same time she stopped feeling her arms.

It took her an hour and a half to walk the two miles home. She thanked whatever deity existed that she’d been at the edge of the destruction and her apartment was at the edge of Harlem. She unlocked her door and stumbled into her apartment trying not to wake the sleeping child. She quickly carried the girl into her bedroom and laid her gently in the bed covering her with the blankets. She’d figure out something for them in the morning but for now the couch would work for her. Charlotte left the door cracked open in case something happened during the night. Stumbling back into her living room she sat on the couch and breathed for a few minutes before reaching down to take off her shoes. She winced when she saw her bloody socks. She cried out in pain as she peeled them off her feet. She limped in to the kitchen to grab a roasting pan and her first aid kit. She filled the pan with warm water before carefully carrying it back to the living room.

She sunk her feet into the hot water and leaned back into her worn second hand couch. She let her feet soak for several minutes before lifting them out of the water. She hissed as she rubbed antibacterial cream on them before painstakingly putting band aids on each bleeding sore. She grabbed an extra pillow and one of the many throws laying around the room and curled herself into a ball on the couch and finally let herself cry.


	2. CHPT 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I meant to just work on this to get over my writers block and a few days later I have 20+ pages written. Go figure. I'll post each chapter as I have the next one finished. Again I'm working on original work also so posting may be sporatic. I think the format may have gotten a bit odd but I'm not sure how to fix it. Thanks!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's quite a bit of Spanish in this chapter. I put translations in itallics after the sentence. I haven't written in Spanish in years so I'm sorry for any mistakes. Mi'ja is short for mi hija or my daugther but is used (at least when I lived in Chile) as a term of endearment for a younger female that you might see as family. Some of the Spanish translates stiffly so that's a thing.

CHAPTER 2

            The next two weeks passed in a blur for Clint. Sending Loki back with Thor, getting debriefed with Natasha at S.H.I.E.L.D, and then hiding out in a safe house for a week before going stir crazy. They made their way back to New York slowly. When they got back to the city they headed for Stark Tower to find the rest of the team- minus Thor- there also.

            “I’m making this the Avengers tower now. It’s ours.” Tony explained walking them through the remodels. He already repaired one of the floors having his private construction crew working 24/7 to make the area livable. “We’ll each have our own apartment floor, there’ll be a communal floor where we can share and bond and shit- Capsicle over there said it was important. Pepper agreed. This way next time we’re needed we’ll be convenient. A home base so to speak. It’s gonna take a while though. I donated my crew to the clean-up first. Paying them lots of overtime too.”

            “Well it’s not like you can’t afford it right?” Natasha said dryly.

            “Of course I can. It also helps with our relations with the locals or so Pepper tells me.” Tony said.

            “Who’s all here?” Clint asked.

            “You, Super Spy Chick, Green Rage Monster, Capsicle, and Pepper are here now and Thor’s science lady friend and her assistant are coming.” Tony answered. 

            “New Mexico scientist?” Clint asked. “I liked her.”

            “Jane Foster.” Tony answered looking at his Starkpad. “Brilliant woman, been trying to recruit her for years.”

            “Took Thor to finally convince her?” Natasha asked.

            “Nope, offered her unlimited funding to study whatever she wants.” Tony answered. “Jarvis- show the super spy’s their rooms if you could.”

            “Right away Sir.” The voice from the celling said. “Ms. Romanoff your room is down the hall and the third door on the left. Mr. Barton your room is right beside hers. If you need anything please do let me know and I’ll have it sent up.”

            “Thanks Jarvis.” Natasha said before leaving the common area to find her room.

            “So this means you’re staying?” Tony called after her.

            “It means we’re staying tonight.” Clint said before following his partner.

            A week later both of them were still in the tower.  Clint walked into the common area after his post work out shower. Natasha already sat on the couch watching the news channel.

            “How do you do it?” Clint asked as he flopped down next to her.

            “Do what?” She asked.

            “Get in the shower the same time I do after the same work out I do and finish before I do and still look perfect.” He said.

            “Practice and talent Barton, practice and talent.” Natasha answered before turning back to the TV.

            “ _We come to you live from Harlem where a local teacher is desperately seeking the parents of a young girl she rescued during the alien invasion.”_ The news casters voice came from the television.

            “Hey turn that up.” Clint said, “Remember that woman I mentioned?”

            “Impressive swearing, found the kid?” Natasha asked.

            “Yeah- that’s her.” Clint said as Charlotte appeared on the screen cradling the toddler they’d saved.

            _“So you found this girl under the rubble?”_ the news caster asked.

            _“Yes. Hawkeye from the Avengers helped me rescue her and brought us to a safe zone during the attack.”_ Charlotte told her.

            _“Do you know anything about her?”_

_“No, I’ve been calling her Baby Girl. She’s about two a half and has obviously been loved. She talks a little bit but hasn’t been able to tell me her name or anything else. I’m looking for anyone who recognizes her or knows her parents. If anyone has any information please contact the police or social services. She needs her parents and I’m sure they need her too. Please help us.”_

_“That was Charlotte Mathews everyone. Let’s all pray that this little girl gets to see her family soon. I’m Angela Davis live in Harlem. Back to you Jason.”_

            “Hey Jarvis.” Clint said to the room.

            “Yes Mr. Barton?” the AI asked.

            “How hard would it be to find someone if I had their name, neighborhood and occupation?” Clint asked.

            “Easy Mr. Barton. Shall I start a search?”

            “Please, Charlotte Mathews, teacher in Harlem.” Clint said.

            “Right away sir, I’ll alert you when I have any information.” The AI said.

            “Thank you Jarvis.” Clint said.

            He turned back to Natasha who looked at him with one eye brow raised.

            “What?” He asked.

            “Again?” Natasha asked.

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about Nat.” Clint insisted.

            “Really?”

            “Really.”

            “You’re hero complex is kicking in again.” Natasha accused.

            “I don’t have a hero complex!” Clint said.

            “Yes you do- Budapest.” Natasha responded.

            “You and I still remember Budapest very differently.” Clint insisted.

            “If you say so.” Natasha smiled before turning back to the T.V.

            “Mr. Barton, sir, I have the information you requested. Would you like me to send it to your phone?” The AI’s voice came over the loud speaker.

            “Yes, please. Thank you Jarvis.” Clint said.

            “Of course Mr. Barton.”

            “Hero complex.” Natasha said one more time under her breath before flicking the channel on the T.V.

“Don’t forget your hearing aids when you go.” She said louder.

“I won’t.” Clint told her before turning back to the T.V.

~&~

            Charlotte stood in her tiny kitchen staring at the cupboards trying to decide what to make for dinner. It’d been two days since she gave the interview and still no one had come forward recognizing Baby Girl. She glanced into the living room to check on the toddler. Baby Girl sat on the floor playing with the toys Charlotte had managed to find or borrow. She thanked god it was summer and she didn’t have to find a sitter every day. Still social services asked if she’d be willing to keep the girl until a relative was found. She’d said yes of course. They’d expedited her certification as a foster parent. She was now the official guardian of toddler Jane Doe. With the city scrambling to rebuild all of the systems were back logged. The list of missing and dead grew every day.

            “Spaghetti.” Charlotte said under her breath pushing her thoughts out of her head, “we’re having spaghetti.”

            She reached up to grab the noodles, pasta sauce, and spice rack from the cupboard shelf when the stitches in her shoulder pulled. She winced and reminder herself to call Lisa, see if the nurse could come over and remove her stitches this week. Hospitals and clinics were on the backlogged list. Lisa worked as an RN over at the free clinic. Getting her stitches out in her kitchen couldn’t be any worse than getting them put in on an urban battle field.

            As she finished browning the hamburger Charlotte hear a knock on the door.

            “Un momento Tia!” She called out thinking it was her elderly Cuban neighbor, “Ya voy!” She quickly dumped the browned meat into the strainer in the sink before turning off the burner. She wiped her hands off on the towel over her shoulder as she quickly walked to the door.

            “Tia, esta temprano.” She said as she opened the door.  _Aunt you're early_

“Oh, you’re not my neighbor.” She said as she stared at the man in her doorway.

“Umm, no I guess I’m not.” Clint said. “You call your neighbor Aunt?”

“You speak Spanish?” Charlotte asked as she moved aside to let the Avenger in.

“Not really. Just enough to get by. You?” He asked curious.

“Enough I guess. Took some in college and my neighbor is Cuban- she doesn’t speak a ton of English so I learned more when I moved here. Speaking of how did you find here?” Charlotte asked as Clint awkwardly stood in her kitchen. She saw him glance around the room and suspected he noticed everything there.

“I saw your interview the other day. Wondered how you were doing. Tony- Ironman has a lot of resources and the interview gave your name, occupation and neighborhood.” Clint shuffled from foot to foot a bit not knowing if he should sit or if she had plans and would kick him out.  Charlotte stared at the man. He was shorter than most men she knew coming only six or seven inches taller than she was making him about five foot ten. He was rock solid she could see that even in the loose long sleeve shirt and jeans he wore to make himself blend in more. He also looked nervous.

“Well you’re here so you might as well stay for dinner.” She said taking pity on him, “Have a seat. Would you like some wine?” She asked holding up the bottle she had.

“Please.” Clint told her sitting down at the kitchen table, “and thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Charlotte said pouring them both a generous glass before turning back to the stove.

“Of course if you’re going to stay for dinner do I call you Hawkeye all night or do you have a name?” Charlotte asked as she took a sip of her wine.

“Clint is fine.” He laughed taking a sip of his own glass. The pair sat in silence as Charlotte prepped to start making the sauce.

“How goes the hunt for her parents?” Clint asked looking at the toddler playing in the living room. A blanket lay over the couch back folded neatly and a pillow say off to one side. Clint was willing to bet his swanky new place that Charlotte spent the last two weeks on the couch while the kid slept in the bedroom.

“Like shit.” Charlotte said frankly as she dumped the pasta into the boiling water and began to stir the browned meat into the sauce, “No one’s reported a little girl missing and they have no idea who she is, if she has family or hell even if she’s from New York.”

“I suppose she’s too young to have her DNA in the system.” Clint commented watching the toddler play.

“It actually might be. She was probably born in 2010 or 2009. Parents had the option to DNA their children in a lost children’s system. It could only be used to identify kids in missing children cases. If her DNA isn’t in a system somewhere her foot prints might be digital. But every system is back logged and no one’s reported a missing little girl. Cases where a child’s been reported missing are being dealt with first!” Clara explained frustrated. “The city just doesn’t have enough resources right now.”

“Tony might have something. I can ask him if you’d like.” Clint told her.

“I’ll try anything right now. Hell I’d settle for a name even.”

Just then Baby Girl wandered into the kitchen reaching for Clint’s wine glass.

“Juice!” she said trying to grab the glass stem.

“No, no, no sweetie that’s not juice.” Charlotte said swooping in holding a sippy cup. “Here’s your juice Baby Girl.” She handed the toddler the bright sippy cup before scooping her up in her arms and returning to the stove to stir the sauce.

“Can I help with anything?” Clint asked.

“Umm, would you set the table?” Charlotte asked, “Plates are in the cupboard over there, cups in the next one over. Flatware is in the drawer below. Would you set four places? Please?”

“No problem.” Clint said walking to where her finger pointed. He grabbed four sturdy mismatched plates from the shelf and carefully laid them on the table. He found the rest of needed items and laid them out also. Charlotte set the toddler down to grab the cooked noodles and dump them in the strainer. As stirred butter into the noodles another knock sounded on the door.

“Tia?” Charlotte called out to the door.

“Si mi’ja, estoy aqui’!” her neighbor called through the door. _Yes mi'ja I'm here_

“Ya voy Tia.” Charlotte called as she quickly crossed the small room and opened the door embracing the small Cuban grandmother. “Hola Tia, como esta?”  _Coming Aunt, hello aunt how are you_

“Estoy bien mi’ja. Como estas? Quien es?” She asked pointing her finger at Clint, “Tienes un novio?”  _I'm good mi'ja. How are you? Who's this? Do you have a boy friend?_

“Tia, sabe que no! El me salvo durante la batalla.”  _Aunt you know I dont. He saved me during the battle_

“Es guapo no?” The elderly woman looked Clint up and down with a Clint in her eye.  _He's handsome, no?_

“No se.” Charlotte laughed. “Clint this is my amazing neighbor Senora Esmeralda Maria Mendoza. Tia this is my friend Clint.”  _I don't know._

“Mucho gusto Senora.” Clint said in heavily accented Spanish.  _It's nice to meet you Senora._

“Esme is ok Clint.” Emse responded in equally accented English. “Where my little girl baby?” Esme went into the room and scooped the little girl into her frail looking arms.

“Esme was one of the last legal immigrants from Cuba. She came when she was about eighteen and became a maid to the young wife of the Spanish ambassador. When the woman died of a heart attack thirty years later she left Esme a sizeable amount. She retired and rented the apartment next door and has been there for years. She goes to church three times a week and teaches Catechism at the local Spanish Catholic school and comes to dinner every Tuesday and most Saturday’s. Never really had to learn much English.” Charlotte explained as she set the food on the table.

“Cool lady.” Clint said helping.

“You have no idea.” Charlotte said watching her neighbor listen patiently as Baby Girl brought Esme each of her toys. “She’s been coming over every other day to watch Baby Girl, give me a break to do shopping or talk to the police.”

“Very cool lady.” Clint amended. The three adults and one child all sat down together to eat. Charlotte and Esme took turns helping Baby Girl eat plain buttered noodles. They managed to combine English and Spanish to make enough conversation to laugh over.

“So Clint, you have job?” Esme asked.

“Yes, yes I do.” Clint said wiping his mouth. “Umm… the government, I work for the government.”

“Good job?” Esme asked.

“Yes, I work with… interesting people.” Clint carefully supplied.

“Good and you go to church?” Esme asked.

“Tia, yo no voy a la inglesia- usted sabe.” Charlotte interjected.  _Aunt, I don't go to church you know._

“Mi’ja, solo quiero saber si el es un buen chico- si tiene trabajo, si va a la inglesia.” Esme said smiling, “Sabes que tu tienes que llevarla nina a la inglesia. Es importante.”  _Mi'ja I only want to know if he's a good boy, if he has a job, if he goes to church. You know that you have to bring the girl to church. It's important._

“Ella no es mia.” Charlotte pointed out.  _She's not mine._

“Por ahora ella es tuya.” _For now she is._

“Solo por un ratito.” Charlotte insisted.  _Only for a little bit._

“Vamos a ver.” Esme told her.  _We'll see._

“I didn’t understand anything but church.” Clint said laughing watching the two women talk back and forth.

“Si me da permisso a llevarla a la inglesia este domingo yo podria cuidar de ella durante la noche.” Esme glanced pointedly between the two adults.  _If you let me take her to church tomorrow I could watch her for the night._

“Esme was offering to take Baby Girl to church in the morning.” Charlotte said blushing a bit.

“I get lonely, it nice to have company.” Esme said smiling. “I think Charlotte need break too.”

“Alright, alright Tia.” Charlotte laughed, “You can have Baby Girl for the night and take her to church tomorrow.”

“Good, children do dishes. I pack things.” Esme said wiping her mouth and standing up. She picked Baby Girl out of her chair and went to the sink to wash the toddlers face. Charlotte shook her head and began clearing the dishes from the table. Clint quickly got up to help her. They washed the dishes in companable silence and packed away the left overs for later in the week. After several minutes Esme came back out of the bedroom carrying a back pack and chatting to the child in Spanish.

“Sabe que ella no habla español?” Charlotte asked.  _You know she doesn't speak Spanish._

“No habla espanol todavia.” Esme pointed out. “Y nunca va a aprender si nadia ayudale. Vamos ahora. Volvemos manana- a las dos creo. Have good time children.” With that the elderly woman took the toddlers hand and led her out of the small apartment and across the hall.  _She doesn't speak Spanish yet. And she's never going to learn if no one helps her. We're going now. We'll be back tomorrow around two I think._

“Why do I get the idea that your neighbor just tried to set you up by taking the kid to church?” Clint asked laughing.

“Because she did.” Charlotte laughed as she grabbed her glass and the bottle of wine off the counter. “Another glass?”

“Sure.”

Clint sat down next to Charlotte on the couch and held out his glass for her to pour. For a few moments they sat in silence sipping their glasses.

“Do you really think Tony Stark would help me find her parents?” Charlotte asked after a few minutes.

“I think so. He’s a good guy. Arrogant ass hole but a good guy.” Clink said. “I can ask him tomorrow. If you want I can call you and tell you what he says.”

“Oh so you already have my number?” Charlotte teased.

“No but if you’re comfortable giving it to me I’ll call after I talk to Tony.”

“Like I said, I’ll try anything at this point. Even men with more money than sense.” Charlotte told the archer.

The pair switched topics to talk about the cleanup of the city and how the country reacted to the existence of aliens and super heroes. They stayed away from anything too personal for either of them. They talked about their favorite parts of the city- the Met for her and Coney Island for him. Around ten or so they exchanged numbers and Clint promised again to talk to Tony in the morning.

“Hey thanks for checking up on us and for helping with Baby Girl. She needs her family.” Charlotte said as she walked him to the door.

“Don’t mention it. That day was hell. I know we stopped it as soon as we could but it’s good to see some of the little good we did.” Clint confessed.

“Whatever the reason thank you.” Charlotte said one last time.

“I’ll call you tomorrow after I talk to Tony. Night Charlotte.”

“Night Clint.”


	3. Chpt 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Here's the next chapter. I'm enjoying this story so far and want to say thinks to all the views and kudos. I appreciate it!

CHPT 3

            Clint walked into his room at the Avengers tower not bothering to flick on the light. He pulled off his shirt before unbuttoning his pants.

            “So how’d dinner go?” Natasha’s voice came from his bed.

            “Holy fuck Tasha- I swear to god I’m buying you a bell.” Clint said startled. “Do you know how creepy that is?”

            “Says the man who spent the week hiding in the air vents to scare Stark.” Natasha commented.

            “Come on- that was hilarious.” Clint insisted.

            “Yes it was. Now my question- how was dinner?”

            “It was good. I told her I’d see if Tony could help find the little girl’s family.” Clint told her as he sunk down on the bed to sit beside her.

            “He will- guy’s a sucker for kids.” Natasha commented.

            “You mentioned. I told her I’d call her tomorrow after I talk to him.”

            “I told you your hero complex is kicking in.”

            “Tasha for the last time I don’t have a hero complex.”

            “Budapest that’s all I’m saying Clint.” Natasha pointed out as she pushed off the bed to head to her own room. “Starks still in his lab so he probably will stay there until four am. If you want a chance to talk to him, I’d go now.”

            “Thanks Tasha.” Clint said as he stood up and grabbed his pants off the floor. He grabbed a fresh tee shirt out of the closest and pulled it on as he walked toward the elevator.

            “Jarvis can you take me down to the lab?” He asked the celling.

            “Right away Mr. Barton.” Jarvis said as the elevator began to descend. Tony had just finished some new tech that allowed Jarvis to project his words on to any flat or holographic surface. Before the battle the tower had over fifty labs located throughout the building. Tony had three personal labs himself. Now only his basement lab survived which was probably for best as that is where he kept most of his Ironman tinkering. When Clint arrived at the lab he could hear the old rock music blaring through the thick glass walls.

            “Hey Jarvis? Could you open the door for me? And maybe turn down the music?” Clint asked. His hearing aids struggled to filter out the music in the background from people talking to him.

            “Of course Mr. Barton, Sir has not enabled his privacy protocols.” Jarvis told him as the AI projected the words on to the lab’s door. With that the glass doors opened and the music stopped.

            “Jarvis! What the hell? Where’s my tunes?” Tony asked from his work bench.

            “Mr. Barton is here to talk to you Sir.”

            “Legolas what do you need?” Tony asked.

            “Need some help on a science thing.” Clint said carefully stepping over half-finished bits of tech.

            “New arrows? What about boomerang arrows? That way you don’t run out. Or more upgrades on your hearing aids? I’ve had some new ideas.” Tony asked.

            “Umm no- that sounds cool though the boomerang arrows. We should talk about that later. But could you please leave the hearing aids alone?” Clint said getting distracted. “No remember when you picked me up off the street in the battle.”

            “Yeah? I can’t make you fly.” Tony said.

            “No that’s not what I want. I help a woman rescue a little girl but they still haven’t identified her. Could you do anything? Charlotte mentioned maybe digital foot prints? The city seems to be lacking resources.” Clint tried to explain.

            “More Banner’s area than mine. The biology stuff that is. I have resources. Still between us we could probably do something. Collect data and have Jarvis run down possibilities. Facial recognition if parents put pictures of her on Facebook or something. Bring her in tomorrow.” Tony told him before going back to whatever he had been working on before the interruption.

            “Will do Tin Man.” Clint said before turning to head back up to his floor. Maybe living with a billionaire would have some benefits. Once back in his room Clint started getting ready for bed a second time. This time he even made it all the way to taking out his hearing aids and getting into bed. He didn’t bother to set an alarm. His internal clock or Natasha would wake him up for their morning spar. Years of being in the military and a spy gave him the training to fall asleep instantly anywhere. He’d always been grateful for that skill.

            Clint rolled out of bed at seven the next morning rubbing his face as he wandered into the kitchen. He went straight to the coffee pot sitting on the counter and pushed the button to start the liquid churning. Even years in the army hadn’t made him a morning person. He knew Natasha would be coming in a few minutes to make something light to eat before they went and sparred. He started pulling the fresh fruit out of the fridge. Organic fruit Tony insisted. Strawberries, blackberries some other random kind of fucking berries, some kale, spinach he didn’t know how Natasha made these things taste good but she did. She also always made enough for both of them so he couldn’t complain.

            “Coffee.” Natasha signed as she came into the kitchen. Her hair was already pulled back into the tight ballerina bun she favored for working out.

            “Almost done. Got your rabbit food out too.” Clint signed back.

            “Keep making fun of it and I won’t make you one and you can spar against me hungry.” Natasha signed pointedly at him going to the counter to start cutting things up for their smoothies.

            “It’s yummy rabbit food.” Clint amended signing with one hand as he poured her a cup of coffee.

            Forty five minutes later the two faced off in the tower gym. Luckily only the top twenty floors of the Stark tower had been destroyed. The gym had been located toward the main floors so employees could use it as they wanted. In the new tower designs Tony planned on giving the Avengers their own gym near the top floors until then everyone used the old gym. The pair warmed up in silence. Each of them had a different style. Natasha did a graceful combination of ballet and yoga stretches while Clint mixed circus and military. He put in his hearing aids in before they started so they could talk while they fought.

            Once they finished stretching the pair squared off facing each other. They traded several warm up attacks before falling back to circle each other. Clint darted in fir the first attack preferring to take the offense.

            “We have to get Steve down here. We’re getting too used to sparring with just each other.” Clint said as Natasha ducked away from his swing.

            “We can ask him later today.” Natasha said as she swung up with a high kick, “how’d your conversation with Stark go?”

            “Good he said he’d be able to help.” Clint caught her ankle and spun her in the air. As Natasha landed she swept her legs out knocking him to the ground.

            “I’m going to call her once we have a real breakfast.” Clint continued after he regained his wind.

            “Good.” Natasha said as they continued to spar. They exchanged blows and kicks for another forty five minutes before calling it quits.

            “You’re turn to cook- gods all help us.” Natasha reminded him as they rode the elevator back up to the apartment floor.

            “My cooking is not that bad!” Clint insisted as they parted ways toward their respective showers. After Clint washed the sweat off from the morning workout he tossed on a loose pair of sweats and grabbed his phone. He knew the others would be probably be at breakfast so he popped his hearing aids back in.

            Once in the kitchen he pulled out bacon, eggs, veggies and all the ingredients for pancakes. He figured if Banner and Rogers would wander through the kitchen sooner or later and he might as well feed them too. Even if that meant using over a dozen eggs for the scrambled eggs alone. As he started to chop the veggies to mix in the scrambled eggs he pulled out his phone and pressed Charlotte’s contact number.

            Clint had to admit there were some great perks to living with Tony Stark. In the week they’d been there Tony had hooked him up with some great prototypes. One of which being a holographic screen that came up when he made a phone call and translated the conversation to writing. That way if his hearing aids missed something he could just read it. Or he could make calls without bothering to put them in. Stark also insisted on fiddling with his hearing aids and seeing if he could upgrade them. Clint had started to hide his hearing aids so he wouldn’t wake up with new tricked out hearing aids that only worked half the time.

            “H’lo?” A sleep ridden voice came over the phone. The text popped up on the holographic screen.

            “Oh- shit. I’m sorry. Of course you’re asleep. Neighbor has the kid of course you slept in.” Clint said mentally kicking himself. It was barely past nine on a Sunday.

            “Clint?” Charlotte asked sounding slightly more awake. Clint had to admit one improvement Tony made to his hearing aids was reconfiguring the team’s com system and the blue tooth in his phone to connect straight to his hearing aid. Now phone calls routed into the com system which was routed into his hearing aid. He didn’t have to try to filter out background noise.

            “Um, yeah it’s me.” Clint said.

            “Hi, good morning. I’m awake, I’m awake. Kind of. God I need coffee.” Charlotte muttered.

            “I’m sorry, I didn’t look at the time when I called.” Clint said apologetically.

            “No it’s ok, it’s fine. Did you talk to Tony Stark?” She asked.

            “I did. He thinks Dr. Banner and he can help. Said something about facial recognizing tech and Facebook. Said you guys can come by today.” Clint tossed the veggies into the egg mix.

            “Just come by Stark Tower? No big deal.” Charlotte said.

            “I could come by and pick you guys up.” Clint told her. “If that was going to make it less strange.”            

            “Um, yeah sure that’d be great.” Charlotte said, “Esme is bringing Baby Gairl back between noon and two this afternoon. Would three work for you?”

            “Yeah, Tony probably just be getting up by then.” Clint said.

            “Perfect, see you at three I guess.”

            “See you at three.”

            Clint hung up the phone and stared at it for a second. He set it back down on the counter and went back to cooking. Twenty minutes later he had a stack of pancakes tall enough to intimidate most people, a serving bowl full of scrambled eggs and about four pounds of bacon. As if on cue Natasha walked into the room perfectly put together followed by Steve and Bruce. The four of them fell on the food and ate mostly in silence. Bruce and Steve needed to feed their serum enhanced metabolisms and neither Clint nor Natasha had ever been the type to talk much during meals.          

            After all of the food was gone Bruce and Steve insisted on doing the dishes saying it was only fair after they’d eaten most of the food. Natasha wandered off to clean her guns and sharpen her knives as she did every week. Clint hung back to talk to the others.

            “Banner, did Tony mention a friend of mine coming by today?” Clint asked.

            “Yeah, the one with the little girl that needs to be identified.” Bruce said holding a plate.

            “Are you ok with it?” Clint asked.

            “I do much better with children than I do most people.” Bruce said. “We should be able to help her either way.”

            “Thanks Bruce.” Clint said to the doctor.

            “It’ll be an interesting day to say the least. Thor’s girlfriend and her assistant are arriving today.” Steve said from the sink where he was drying dishes.

            “Jane Foster?” Bruce asked. “I’ve read quite a bit of her work. She’s brilliant. It’ll be great to meet her.”

            Clint left Bruce explaining the basis of astrophysics to Steve as he went off to find Natasha and take care of his own weapons. He slipped his hearing aids off and set them on the table.

            “They itch.” He signed to Natasha.

            “I know.” She signed back. Natasha grabbed the remote and turned on the close captioning for the cooking show she had on.

            “It makes me feel normal.” Natasha signed to Clint.

            “I know.” Clint signed and nodded. Both of them had little things they needed to do to feel normal. The pair fell into silence with guns and knives spread on the table in front of them.

~&~

            Charlotte stared at the gurgling coffee pot waiting for the caffeinated sludge to drip down into the waiting pot. She really should get a new coffee maker but she also was working on a tight budget now a days. Being a high school history teacher wasn’t the best paying gig- even in a private school. She had to laugh at the fact she made more money while in college than after. Before the attack she’d been considering going back to her old gig- moon lighting for a few weekends. Until she figured out what was going to happen to Baby Girl she didn’t want to do that. If it was going to be a long term thing Esme could watch her for the night. That way Charlotte could get some new things for Baby Girl. At the very least figure out a better sleeping arrangement. Of course there’s a chance they could find her parents right away.

            Charlotte carried her cup of coffee to the bathroom connected to the bedroom. That was the one huge perk of the shoe box apartment- it came with one and a half bath. She had a decent sized master bathroom with a big old claw foot tub and shower handle. If she was going to the Stark Tower today escorted by one of the Avengers who saved her life she was going to have a god damn bath. Baby Girl wouldn’t be back for a few hours and Charlotte had a book she wanted to finish.

            Charlotte ran the water so hot it almost scalded her. She added several scoops of lavender and chamomile bath salts and a rose bubble bath. After the bath filled Charlotte let her robe pool to the floor. She stepped into the tub and hissed as the hot water kissed her skin. She slowly sank down into the water and lay her head back against the porcelain tub. Bits of her auburn hair fell from the messy bun she’d put it in and stuck to the back of her neck. She grabbed her book off the little table she kept to the side of the tub and began to read.

            An hour and a half later she emerged from the bathroom her hair wrapped up in a towel. She walked into the kitchen to pour herself another cup of coffee. She wandered back to her closet and looked through her clothes. She grabbed one of her professional dresses and laid it out on the bed. She looked at her shoe rack hanging over her door and grabbed a pair of heels that were comfortable and made her feel more confident.

            “Underwear.” She said to herself, “cute underwear. That’ll make me more confident. It’s worked before. Besides I’ve done this before. I’ve gone to the home of the stupid rich before- very different context sure but I’ve done it. God damn. Thank god Esme got Baby Girl church clothes.”

            Charlotte may not be close to her small town Catholic parents but they did pound a few things into her head. Never show up at someone’s home messy. If you are a guest you act like one. Charlotte didn’t want to insult Tony Stark by bringing a cheap bottle of wine but she wasn’t going to show up like a slob. She didn’t have a lot but when she did buy she bought quality. A few of her nicer things some of her former customers had bought her. The black Chanel dress she’d chosen for today was one of her favorites. A former state senator had bought it for her. She slid on silk underwear and bra set. She also grabbed a thin black tank top and slid it on over her bra. The Chanel dress was beautiful but it had a seam that always rubbed her hips and waist.

            The routine of fixing her hair and makeup relaxed her. It always had. She carefully blow dried her hair before rolling it up in hot rollers. While the rollers set she carefully plucked her brows and applied her makeup. Understated and simple. Soon after she finished styling her hair she heard a knock on the door.

            “Mi’ja! Volvimos!” Esme called through the door. _Mi'ja we're back!_

            “Ya voy!” Charlotte called zipping up her dress. She glanced at the clock and was shocked to see it was already two. Charlotte opened the door to her neighbor dressed to the nines in her good church dress and Baby Girl wearing an adorable purple Sunday dress.  _I'm coming_

            “Que linda!” Charlotte exclaimed. “De donde se encuentra ese Esme?”  _How cute! Esme where did you find that?_

            “Mi amiga, su nieta no lo usa mas.” Esme said. “Que bonita tu!”  _My friend, her granddaughter doesn't use it any more. You look beautiful!_

            “Vamos a Stark Tower. Es possible que el puede ayudarnos encontrar su padres.” Charlotte explained.  _We're going to Stark Tower. It's possible that he can help us find her parents_

            “De veras? Mi’ja que bien!” Esme said. “Me voy ahora. Llamame despues y digame todo.”  _Really? Mi'ja that's great! I'll go now. Call me later and tell me everything._

            “Si claro Tia. Gracias por todo.”  _Of course Aunt. Thank you for everything._

            “De nada mi’ja de nada.” Esme said before she hurried back to her apartment. Charlotte was certain that in twenty minutes Esme’s entire church group would know that her sobrina was going to Stark Tower. Charlotte’s neighbor had many talents and keeping the ladies of her church up to date on gossip was just the tip of the ice berg. Charlotte had gotten strep throat once and not one but five dishes had shown up at her door via Esme. All five of them had invitations to bible study. 

            Charlotte closed the apartment door and turned back to the two and a half year old wandering into the living room to play with her toys.

            “Did you have fun Baby Girl?” Charlotte asked. The social worker said that Baby Girl was doing alright. The social worker also said that if Baby Girl didn’t speak a lot for a few weeks not to worry. The trauma of the battle and not having her parents might cause her vocabulary to drop significantly. The social worker suggested talking to Baby Girl as much as possible since she probably understood a fair amount.

            “Fun!” The toddler said smiling. Within a moment the smile dropped off the little girls face.

            “Where mommy daddy?” Baby Girl asked looking around to see if they popped up out of the corner.

            “I don’t know Baby Girl. I’m trying to find them.” Charlotte told her. This wasn’t the first time Baby Girl asked for her parents and Charlotte was sure it wouldn’t be the last. It happened at the most random times, during dinner, bath time, right before bed and sometimes while she was playing. Charlotte sat down on the floor and opened her arms so the child could crawl into her lap.

            “I’m trying to find them Baby Girl. I’m trying.” She whispered as she held the little girl close. The pair sat there until another knock sounded on the door. Charlotte carefully untangled her legs and walked over to the door and opened it to Clint standing in the hall.

            “You really need an elevator.” Clint told her.

            “It’s only a third floor walkup.” Charlotte said, “Give me one second to grab my purse.” She stepped back in to the apartment to grab her purse and check to make sure she had a book, toy and snack for Baby Girl.

            “Alright I think we’re ready.” Charlotte said turning back to the archer in her doorway. “And shouldn’t an Avenger deal with a few flights of stairs better?”

            “I like my exercise to be intentional.” Clint told her, “You look nice by the way.”

            “Thanks, it’s one of my favorites.” Charlotte said honestly while she tried to juggle the toddler and the purse and slip her shoes on at the same time. Low heels might not be the most practical but she felt more confident wearing them.

            “Want me to take something?” Clint asked her.

            “Actually if she’ll go to you would you mind?” Charlotte asked nodding toward the toddler.

            “Hey Baby Girl, wanna come here?” Clint asked holding out his arms. Baby Girl studied him carefully before she nodded and leaned over so Clint could pluck her from Charlotte’s arms. They walked down the three flights of stairs and out of the apartment building. A purple mustang sat on the street parked illegally.

            “I thought Avengers were supposed to follow the law.” Charlotte said.

            “I’m pretty sure it’s against the law to legally park in New York.” Clint told her.

            “Oh fuck me, I don’t have a car seat!” Charlotte realized.

            “I do- Natasha said we’d need one.” Clint said proudly as he opened the door to the back of the car.

            “Thank god, I hadn’t even thought of it. Hell I haven’t even driven a car since I moved here.” Charlotte explained as she stepped forward to settle Baby Girl into the car seat. After the toddler was buckled in the two adults climbed into the front seat.

            “Ready?” Clint asked.

            “Not at all.” Charlotte told him. “But let’s go find her parents.”

            “Alright, come on- it’ll be fun.” Clint said as he started up the car. He pulled back into the traffic and headed for Manhattan.


End file.
